Two of Miami’s 4 runways stay closed Monday morning after an Amazon Air cargo aircraft operated by North Carolina-based 21 Air overran a runway throughout touchdown at Miami Worldwide Airport, struck a number of autos and caught on fireplace, leaving 5 individuals lifeless and 5 critically injured.
In an alert on its web site, Miami airport stated flight operations will proceed to be impacted all through the day due to the runway closures and the Federal Aviation Administration’s momentary suspension of flight exercise on Sunday, which prevented plane and flight crews from arriving on schedule. Native information accounts stated some flights had been diverted to Orlando Worldwide Airport.
NW 67th Avenue between NW twenty fifth Avenue – NW thirty sixth Avenue on the northwest finish of the airport stays closed, the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Workplace posted on X about 9:30 a.m. ET.
The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300 medium widebody freighter operated by constitution operator 21 Air, was flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it overran the runway round 2 p.m. and collided into autos on a close-by street, in line with the FAA and emergency officers. Firefighters rescued the pilots from the cockpit as they doused the rear of the aircraft with foam. The aircraft was going 130 mph when it left the usable portion of the runway, flight knowledge confirmed. Pilots didn’t declare an emergency earlier than touchdown, in accordance CNN. The diagonal runway the aircraft landed on is greater than 9,000 toes lengthy.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board stated it has despatched a staff of specialists to analyze the runway tour.
Greater than 200 emergency personnel responded to the accident and extinguished the blaze, however had been nonetheless coping with a gas leak hours later. One particular person was trapped beneath one of many concerned autos and needed to be extricated by specialised technical rescue personnel, in line with the Miami-Dade County Fireplace & Rescue Division on the X platform.
The trigger has but to be decided. Thunderstorms and wind gusts as much as 30 mph had been recorded within the space on the time, in line with the Nationwide Climate Service, however it’s unclear if climate performed a job within the incident.
“We’re devastated by the accident involving considered one of our plane in Miami in the present day. Our deepest condolences are with the households and family members of those that misplaced their lives. Our quick priorities are supporting these affected, helping the authorities, and making certain that correct data is communicated because it turns into out there,” 21 Air CEO Keith Winters stated in an announcement posted on the corporate’s web site. “We’re cooperating totally with the Nationwide Transportation Security Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, and native authorities. The circumstances of the accident are beneath investigation.”
21 Air is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, however its primary working base is at Miami Worldwide Airport. It’s owned by Jime Crane, a longtime logistics govt who owns Crane Worldwide Logistics and the Houston Astros skilled baseball staff.
The airline started flying for Amazon in November 2024. It at present operates 9 freighter plane, in line with the Aero Transport Knowledge Financial institution. Earlier this 12 months it had 16 plane, however has since leased some planes to different carriers.
The 767-300 (registration N1997A) that crashed Sunday was inbuilt 1994 and flew for passenger airways earlier than being transformed in 2015 to hold cargo on the primary deck. It was the primary aircraft Amazon positioned in its fleet in 2016 when it launched a non-public cargo airline to expedite the supply of e-commerce packages across the nation. Amazon has a fleet of greater than 100 cargo jets, however it’s not an airline within the strictest sense. The corporate doesn’t have an air working certificates or its personal pilots and as an alternative outsources flying to contractors resembling 21 Air.
“We’re heartbroken to be taught that 5 individuals misplaced their lives in in the present day’s incident at Miami Worldwide Airport,” Amazon stated in an announcement. “Our deepest sympathies exit to the households, family members, and all these affected by this devastating loss.”
Aviation specialists who noticed video of the touchdown and spoke to the Related Press questioned why the pilot didn’t abort the touchdown and go round one other time if she or he was having hassle settling the aircraft on the runway.
In November, a UPS McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 freighter crashed after shedding an engine throughout takeoff at Louisville Worldwide Airport in Kentucky. The crash killed three individuals on the aircraft and 12 individuals on the bottom.
Click on right here for extra BigRig/American Shipper tales by Editor.
Write to Editor at editor@bigrigdatabase.net.
RELATED STORIES:
21 Air eyes bigger Boeing 777 cargo jets to entry long-haul market
Canada’s Cargojet performs position in CEO exit at Amazon associate 21 Air
21 Air makes debut cargo flight for Amazon
The publish 2 Miami runways nonetheless closed after lethal Amazon cargo jet accident appeared first on BigRig.